Auckland kind of blows

Well, three dirty hippies and one dead hooker and I think we've had enough of the Auckland area. We had our first couchsurfing experience at an "Eco-Village" just outside of Auckland. As it turns out, an eco village is a place where everyone smells like patchoulli and B.O., toilets aren't flushed and food is a serious commodity. Pretty great place otherwise. They were on 18 acres of unadulterated bush where the call of the Tui and Gobbler could be heard for miles. Sadly the community is smack in the middle of encroaching development. It won't be long before Chipotle, Bed Bath and Beyond, and WalMart force out the dread-donning idyllic utopians.

We're getting prepared to head up North to the Bay of Islands, an area that boasts 127 small islands, where we'll be working for someone who is renovating their B&B. They'll pick us up by boat as there is no other way of getting to their place. Well, at least that's the plan for now.